Who will save our republic?

As I contemplate the antics of our oxymoronic President Donald Trump, a quote from my Latin class from the 1950s runs through my head: “How long, O Catiline, will you continue to abuse our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now?”

Cicero, a self-made consul of the Roman Republic, gave four speeches against his rival, who fled the city and attempted a coup. Catiline was eventually executed in spite of his patrician descent. Two millennia later, Cicero is still famous for his oratorical abilities.

According to Wikipedia, “On November 3, 2016, just four days before election day in the United States, The Washington Post published a story noting a resemblance between Donald Trump and Cicero. The article written by Julie Zauzmer said, “but quite often, what the Republican nominee says works. In part, that’s because Trump is using many of the same rhetorical strategies of one of the greatest orators in all of recorded history: Cicero.” Zauzmer later describes this style. “Preterition often falls short of full honesty.” In his book, Cicero’s Style, classics scholar Michael von Albrecht called this tactic ‘a stylistic device especially useful if you want to mention things you cannot prove.’ ”

Judging by the flight of industry leaders from their self-proclaimed “Make American Great Again” protector, it seems the worm has turned. Decency seeks a voice. Where now is the orator who will save our republic?

Richard S. D. Hawkins is a resident of Santa Fe.